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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · lie · tube · key · rest · cold · march · pound

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — a container
  3. lie — to recline
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — not warm
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tube — the underground
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rule — a law
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rule — government
  21. key — in music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com